Earth Week Rap-up at USD

Earth week was our kickoff event for Campus Footprint and it went great! Our main attraction was the display of the EcoUsable products, including the stainless steel water bottles and a demonstration kit that shows how the filter works first hand.

Students were enthusiastic about how well the water bottle filtered the soiled water and several asked where they could be purchased. We also made up simple strips of paper with contact information and fun facts about ways to reduce your personal carbon footprint.

We will be participating in at least one more promotional event before the end of the semester. Then for most of the summer, we will be preparing for a major Fall 2010 campus campaign on reducing single use plastic bottles and promoting other simple ways to decrease campus emissions. Fall 2010 will be our first full semester of Campus Footprint projects at USD and we plan to have a full roster of events and team meetings planned for when students return the second week of September.

Campus Group Takes Strides for the Globe

Speakers from the Cal State Fullerton Arboretum and Campus Footprint organization gave a presentation on Wednesday to inform students about how they can help the environment through establishing sustainability.

Campus Footprint, a student-run organization that teams up with other student organizations on campus, have so far reduced carbon emissions by an estimated

Click here to read the full article in the Cal State Fullerton Daily Titan

Earth Week Kickoff at CSU Fullerton

CSUF Earth Week Spring 2010

Footprint Awareness Movement (FAM) became recognized as an official club on campus this Spring. Along with other organizations on campus, we have been able to provide students with information, as well as access to Campus Footprint products and services that help promote a sustainable lifestyle. Earth Week has been long planned and so far been an excellent turn out. Students seem to become more interested in the environment when the opportunities are presented to them as possible changes in their lifestyle. Here are the events of Earth Week:

Monday April 19, 2010
Reducing Plastic Waste

FAM was able to bring EcoUsable Founder Joey Mendelsohn onto campus to introduce the new “filtered stainless steel water bottle.” Fill up the bottle with tap, lake, river or stream water and it will be filtered right before you drink it. It filters 99.99% up to 100 gallons. Students were happy to be able to have a product that helped the environment as well as saved them money, considering the bottle would eliminate the need for plastic water bottles.

Tuesday April 20, 2010
Alternative Energy and Hybrid Transportation Expo

Working alongside the Center for Sustainability on campus, FAM was able to participate in an expo of electric plug in vehicles. Students visually saw how the hybrid vehicles worked and some were able to ride the hybrid scooters.

Wednesday April 21, 2010
Campus Footprint
Fullerton Arboretum

FAM was excited to invite Campus Footprint Co-Founders Nash Ream and Deni Toneva to our TSU-Alvarado AB as guest speakers. Many students are not aware of the impact their actions have on our environment, especially being in college, their priorities are in other areas. Campus Footprint discussed some of the environmental issues/concerns today along with products and changes students can pick up on to live more sustainably.

Along with the Environmental Advocacy Committee (EAC), the Fullerton Arboretum speakers presented as well. They shared about efforts CSUF has made for the Arboretum to remain sustainable. Specifically, that community involvement is important as they raise awareness and explain the importance of maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

Thursday April 22, 2010
Happy Earth Day!!!

Alongside EAC, there will be a tent walk through display of major impacts in our environment. Welcoming students in to visually see how our environment is doing and what we can do to help it. Also an opportunity drawing will be held for prizes to those students that have shown Green efforts throughout the week.

FAM invites and encourages CSUF students to go out to the community and do something “green” for the environment!

Please feel free to share your comments or connect with me on Facebook

-Liz Avila, Cal State Fullerton FAM President

Harvard Sustainability by the Numbers

5 .0

The percentage reduction in Harvard's greenhouse gas emissions from Fiscal Year 2006 – 2008 (including growth)

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Harvard has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% below a 2006 baseline by 2016, inclusive of growth. As of the end of Fiscal Year 2008 emissions have decreased 5% including growth, 8% without growth (from base buildings).

71

The number of LEED registered projects on campus

Harvard Green Buildings

Harvard University adopted Green Building Guidelines in 2007 that require LEED Silver minimum plus additional requirements. As of October 2009 Harvard has 71 buildings registered with the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), 23 of which are certified, the highest number of certified projects of any U.S. university according to the USGBC. Given that buildings account for such a large percentage of energy used in the U.S., high-performance, energy-efficient buildings are a major part of reducing Harvard's greenhouse gas emissions.

Check out how Harvard performs on areas such as "Green Buildings", "Renewable Energy", "Recycling Rate", and "Transportation".

USD Preps to Launch Campus Footprint Chapter

That's me, Andrew, in the middle of the picture - a Junior Business/Economics major at the University of San Diego. I first learned about Campus Footprint when I met Dr. Duran on my Semester at Sea voyage last year. That was six months ago and I'm proud to announce that University of San Diego’s Student International Business Council (SIBC) is in the process of officially launching a Campus Footprint chapter at USD.

We plan to kick off the partnership by having a booth during Earth Week where we will be promoting simple ways for people to reduce their carbon footprint. The USD administration is enthusiastic about Campus Footprint’s mission statement of "empowering student entrepreneurs with solutions and support to help reduce campus emissions" and we plan to soon have a formal partnership between USD/SIBC and Campus Footprint.

Within SIBC, a project team of 7 students has been formed and other campus organizations are showing interest in helping with the Campus Footprint movement (such as USD’s Sustainability Taskforce). Our team has analyzed campus emissions and will focus mainly on providing practical solutions to reduce 'one-use" plastic bottles (EcoUsable Canteens), water waste (Evolve shower heads) and transportation emissions (electric bikes).

University of San Diego is proud to be San Diego’s CF representative, and excited to see Campus Footprint grow in size and impact. We'll be posting updates from our chapter from time to time so f you have any questions or comments, please feel free to hit me up on Facebook.

UPenn atop "Most Sustainable Campus" Rankings

The University of Pennsylvania recently received an A- rating by GreenReportCard.org for its sustainability efforts. Here are a few highlights of what they are doing on their campus:

ENERGY
Penn purchases 45 percent of its electricity in the form of wind power and uses some biodiesel for its nonelectric energy needs. The university has also committed to cutting approximately one-fifth of its overall carbon emissions by 2017.

TRANSPORTATION
Penn plans to add six hybrid or alternative-fuel vans to its fleet each year. The PennPass, a heavily subsidized student transit pass, allows for unlimited rides on buses and subways. The university partners with a local car-sharing program that directs 1 percent of revenues from Penn users into the Penn Sustainability Fund.

Full Report: The College Sustainability Report Card - University of Pennsylvania

Stanford Students Launch "Green Store"

The Green Store at Stanford University was founded by Student Sustainability Chair Elaine Albertson and her sustainability team (Susie Choi, Eric Knudson, and Jeffrey Sweet) under Jonny Dorsey and Fagan Harris.

You can order directly online and they will personally deliver your eco-products right to your dorm room. They also teach about recycling and composting and have even created a a cool guide on how to "Live Sustainable at Stanford".

Click here for more info on starting a Green Store at your campus.

Bicycle Ambassador Program at University of Maryland

The University of Maryland Sustainability Office runs a program called the "Bike Ambassador Program." The program is made possible by students and paid for by funding recouped by lower than expected fuel costs from the campus shuttle system.

Students serve as liaisons between campus safety and the campus bike shop in order to help to promote the use of bikes on campus. Students get the word out using handouts, events and social media.

Would an ambassador program work at your college?

Check out the results of the program at UM: Bicycle Ambassador Program at University of Maryland

Jack Johnson says Get off the Water Bottle

Did you know that every day 30 Million single serve plastic bottles end up in the landfill? Cool promo video from Jack Johnson for finding an alternative...there are some good ones out there - Klean Kanteen, Eco Usable and Sigg.

Sony Introduces an Eco Laptop

Sony has made a huge commitment to greenhouse gas reductions, reducing their CO2 emissions by 93% in Europe over the past 8 years. All of their sites use only renewable electricity and their suppliers have strict compliance rules to make sure they fall into line. They are very proud of their new VAIO W, their most ecological laptop to date.

Full story at Treehugger